Heat insulating foot pad

ABSTRACT

An insulated, flexible foot pad comprises a polyalkylene bubble sheet sandwiched between a pair of reflective, metallized films that are bonded to the bubble sheet. Exposed faces of the metallized film are provided with a non-slip surface.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.61/983,181, filed on Apr. 23, 2014, which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

FIELD OF INVENTION

This invention relates to outdoor comfort articles, more particularly toheat insulating foot pads for use by spectators of outdoor sportingevents and the like.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

Pieces of cardboard are frequently used as insulating material to keepthe soles of feet warm at outdoor events, e.g., in the stadium at a ballgame, by ice fishermen, by spectators at ski races, and others. Afteruse, however, the cardboard pieces usually are left behind, resulting inmassive clean-up requirements at the event venue. The present inventionreduces substantially the clean-up efforts at event venues and providesa convenient, light weight reusable insulating foot pad that can beconveniently repackaged and stored after use.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

An insulating flexible foot pad suitable for outdoor use at sportingevents such as football games, ski races, bobsled races, and the likehas a rectangular configuration and comprises a polyalkylene (e.g.,polyethylene or polypropylene) bubble sheet sandwiched betweenreflective metallized films that are bonded to both sides of the bubblesheet. A non-slip surface is provided on the exposed faces of themetallized films. Preferably, the exposed faces have an undulatingsurface.

The size of the insulating foot pad can vary but usually is a rectangleof about 16 inches by 32 inches. The insulating foot pad preferably hasa thickness of about ¼ inch to about ½ inch, more preferably 5/16 inchto ⅜ inch, and has an insulating R-value of at least about 10 per inch,preferably about 15 to about 20 per inch.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings,

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an insulating, flexible foot padassembly with the foot pad in a rolled-up configuration;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the insulating, flexible foot pad readyfor use; and

FIG. 3 shows a side elevational view of the foot pad of FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a foot pad assembly 10comprising a rolled-up, rectangular, insulating foot pad 12 and carrier14 therefor.

Foot pad 12 includes a pair of opposed reflective faces with a non-slipsurface, such as coating 16, or strips of anti-slip tape, on the surfaceof each face, as will be described in greater detail hereinbelow.

Carrier 14 comprises a pair of spaced wrapping retainers, such as band18 and band 20, that surround rolled-up pad 12 and are joined to oneanother by handle 22. Bands 18 and 20 preferably are fabric stripsprovided with hook-and-loop (Velcro®) fasteners for each. Alternatively,bands 18 and 20 can be rubber bands joined by handle 22.

The structure of pad 12 is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. Pad 12 on eachexposed face is provided with a reflective, metallized aluminum coatedfilm 24 and 26 which also carries a non-slip coating 16 and 30. At leastone, and preferably both, of the exposed faces defined by the aluminumcoated films preferably provides an undulating surface for pad 12.Sandwiched between aluminum coated films 24 and 26 is a polyalkylenebubble sheet 32 with at least one layer of air-entrapping bubbles.

As best seen in FIG. 3, metallized films 24 and 26 with vapor depositedaluminum coating 34 and 36 thereon are bonded to both sides of bubblesheet 32. A non-slip coating 16 and 30 is provided on each exposed faceof metallized films 24 and 26, respectively.

Bubble sheet 32 is made of polyalkylene polymeric material such aspolyethylene, polypropylene, and the like. The thickness of the bubblesheet preferably is in the range of about ¼ to about ½ inch, morepreferably about 5/16 to ⅜ inch.

The reflective metallized film can be a polyethylene film, apolypropylene film, a polyethylene terephthalate film, and the likehaving a layer of aluminum deposited thereon by vapor deposition. Thethickness of the aluminum layer on the metallized film usually is about0.5 micrometers.

The non-slip surface coating can be a resin composition containingabrasive particles or rubber particles, a varnish composition containingabrasive particles, a siloxane-based composition comprising finelydivided sand pre-treated with a hydrolysable organosilicon compoundsuspended in a curable silanol-terminated diorganopolysiloxane, and thelike.

A particularly preferred non-slip coating composition is a sprayableepoxy polymer coating such as Krylon®3400 non-skid coating, and thelike.

The non-slip coating composition preferably is applied by spraying ontothe metallized film.

Alternatively, the non-slip surface can be provided by strips of ananti-slip adhesive tape such as the oxide grit anti-slip tape, siliconcarbide anti-slip tape, and the like commercially available from W. W.Grainger, Inc., Lake Forest, Ill.

Foot pad 10, when unrolled and ready for use is generally rectangular,about 16 inches wide, about 32 inches long, and about ¼ inch to about ½inch thick, depending on the desired insulating R-value, i.e., thedesired thermal resistance.

R-value is a measure of thermal resistance commonly used in the buildingand construction industry and is the ratio of the temperature differenceacross an insulator, such as the foot pad, and the heat flux (heattransfer per unit area per unit time) through it. R as used herein isexpressed as ft²×° F.×hours/BTU×inches.

After use, foot pad 10 is rolled up and secured by carrier 14 with bands18 and 20.

The foregoing specification and the drawings are illustrative, but arenot to be taken as limiting. Alterations and variations within thespirit and scope of the invention are possible and will readily presentthemselves to those skilled in the art.

1. An insulating, flexible foot pad having a rectangular configurationand comprising a polyalkylene bubble sheet; a reflective metallized filmbonded to each side of the bubble sheet and presenting an exposed face;and a non-slip surface on at least one exposed face of the reflectivemetallized film.
 2. The foot pad in accordance with claim 1 wherein anon-slip coating is present on both of said exposed faces.
 3. The footpad in accordance with claim 1 wherein the metallized film is providedwith a layer of aluminum.
 4. The foot pad in accordance with claim 1wherein the polyalkylene film is a polyethylene film.
 5. The foot pad inaccordance with claim 1 wherein the metallized film contains aluminumand the polyalkylene is polyethylene.
 6. The foot pad in accordance withclaim 1 wherein the non-slip coating is a resin composition containingabrasive particles.
 7. The foot pad in accordance with claim 1 whereinthe non-slip coating is a varnish composition containing abrasiveparticles.
 8. The foot pad in accordance with claim 1 wherein thenon-slip coating is a resin composition containing rubber particles. 9.The foot pad in accordance with claim 1 wherein the bubble sheet is apolyethylene bubble sheet, the metallized film is polyethylene coatedwith aluminum, and the non-slip coating on the metallized film is aresin composition containing abrasive particles.
 10. The foot pad inaccordance with claim 1 wherein the bubble sheet is a polyethylenebubble sheet, the metallized film is polyethylene terephthalate coatedwith aluminum, and the non-slip coating on the metallized film is aresin composition containing rubber particles.
 11. The foot pad inaccordance with claim 1 in the form of a roll secured by a pair of bandsjoined to one another by a handle.
 12. The foot pad in accordance withclaim 1 wherein the non-slip surface is an epoxy polymer coating. 13.The foot pad in accordance with claim 1 wherein the non-slip surface isa non-slip adhesive tape.